Berkeley, California has narrowly made Niche’s 2021 list of the Best Places to Live in America. The Bay Area city ranked #9 on the list. The top three spots went to The Woodlands, Texas; Arlington, Virginia; and Naperville, Illinois.
According to Niche, the 10 best places in California are:
1. Berkeley (#9)
2. Irvine (#11)
3. San Francisco (#15)
4. Sunnyvale (#16)
5. Torrance (#5)
6. Santa Clara (#23)
7. Carlsbad (#35)
8. Pasadena (#45)
9. Thousand Oaks (#57)
10. San Diego (#62)
The company considers factors such as housing prices, schools, walkability, crime, and diversity in its rankings. Data is pulled from sources like the US Census Bureau, the FBI, BLS, CDC, and reviews from residents.
List and data were compiled by Niche and do not reflect statistics on all cities.